Eagles hold off T-birds

The Eastern Washington women’s basketball team showed its toughness against Southern Utah, beating the Thunderbirds 59-54 in a Big Sky contest Thursday on Reese Court.

Junior Lexie Nelson went 6 for 12 from the field, hitting four 3-pointers on the way to a team-high 17 points. Redshirt sophomore Hayley Hodgins added 12 points and seven rebounds while freshman Jade Redmond (Mead) scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games, chipping in 11 points while making 7 of 8 from the free-throw line.

The Eagles held Southern Utah to more than 20 points below its season average, limiting the Thunderbirds to just 38.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Eastern wasn’t much better, shooting just 39.1 percent from the field – its worst shooting performance at home this season. The Eagles, however, came up big from the outside and at the free-throw line, knocking down seven 3-pointers while making 16 of 22 free throws.

Eastern and Southern Utah each pulled down 32 rebounds. Both teams also committed more than 20 turnovers – SUU had 22 miscues compared to the Eagles’ 21.

The game was tied eight times with 14 lead changes.